Oct 10 Featured Artist: AnnaWintery

Q: Where are you from? AW: I'm from Russia. I was born in small city Veliky Novgorod, now living in Saint-Petersburg.

Q: How would you best describe your art style? AW: All my works are digital. Mostly I like to draw beautiful, melancholic women. In my works, I try to pay special attention to the eyes and emotions of the characters. I like to create a contrast between cute characters and dark atmosphere. I think the best description for my artworks is "sad princesses".

Q: Where do you find your inspiration when creating your art? AW: Forest, loneliness and memories of childhood. Often, I find inspiration in sad tales and old photographs of children and very beautiful women of the 30s and 40s.

Q: When did you know you wanted to make a career in the art world? AW: In my childhood (and now) I liked the Disney cartoons, and as I grew up, I got carried away with video games. Over time, I realized that I want to do something beautiful like this by myself. That's how it all began.

Q: What does a day of creating artwork look like for you and how to you start your creative process? AW: Usually I start painting late at night. For some reason, late at night when I really want to sleep and feel tired, inspiration comes to me. Therefore, on such days, I paint almost until the morning. I cannot stretch the process of creating an illustration for a few days. If I am distracted from work for a day or longer, I will never return to it and it will remain unfinished. So, for me it is important to finish illustrations at once.

Q: When you're not creating, what do you like to do with your time? AW: When I find free time, I play video games or read. Sometimes I make cupcakes, but I'm not good at it for now.

Q: What artist (either current or past) do you most admire and why? AW: Dima Rebus and Misha Vyrtsev for their ideas in the artworks and techniques of working with watercolor. Piotr Jabłoński for his atmosphere and imagination. And of course, the tandem of two incredible artists of Etam Crew.

Q: What's the best advice that's been given to you as an artist? AW: Do not listen to other people's advice.